The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to initiate a status review on a petition to list the Snowy Plover as an endangered species. The USFWS noted that the petition did not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions were warranted.

The Pacific Coast population of the western snowy plover is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as threatened. The western snowy plover is a Bird Species of Special Concern in California. Snowy plovers were listed as endangered under Washington Department of Game Policy No. 402 in 1981, and as threatened by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in 1975. The threatened status in Oregon was reaffirmed in 1989 under the Oregon Endangered Species Act.

And, the piping plover, found along the Atlantic Coast, remains federally listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as threatened.